Neptune Festival Virginia Beach

Wow! My mind is blown! It's our second tour here in Coastal Va and this is the first time we attended this festival. Why? Don't ask? Asking myself the same question. We caught the last day on the Sunday. - Set Up -The pavilion that houses the International Sand Sculpting Championship is on 7th. There were a few food vendors on 5th and 6th and then there are just a sea of vendors past 7th for goodness knows how far. The line to the pavilion wraps around and looked deceivingly long, but thr line moved pretty quickly. There is a $7 entrance fee, cash only, and kids under 12 are free with an accompanying adult. It is just so incredible to me that these artists basically put their heart and soul into these masterpieces and all for a limited time, and if you were lucky enough to see it, you will be included in the select # of people to have experienced it in real life. Sure there will be thousands, upon thousands of pictures taken, but never like the real thing. These aren't your little sand castles on a normal beach day either. Massive structures both in width, height and depth! Just remarkable! There were solo sculptures and tag team ones from artists from literally all over the world, including from our own country. Although there was a big crowd, it wasn't jam packed. There was even a sculpture they had available to get a little closer to take photo ops. You could vote for one solo and one tag team sculpture. The rest of the festival had local vendors from near and far! We found Flippin' Hangry to grab a quick bite of lumpias and pancit and walked all the way down to 23rd to see Cherry, the red ice cream trailer from Sundae Scoop! Definitely looking forward to attending again next year and will make it a yearly tradition!

The sand sculptures are incredible. Some of the best come from around the world. There are many food vendors and art vendors. Wide range of foods and desserts. There are great live bands at multiple stages. Some where local bands. Great place to take the family. The sand sculptures were on display for a week. The cost to see the sand sculptures was $7.

I lived in Virginia Beach for a few years without going to the Neptune Festival. Why? Because I didn't want to deal with the parking, the traffic, or the crowds. I know- super lame! Most years I would at least make it down the following week to see the sand sculpture competition. Finally the FOMO got to me and I made it to the festival. I didn't just go one day- I went every single day! I had an absolutely fantastic time meeting up with different groups of friends as the weekend went on. Over 200 vendors line the boardwalk showcasing (and selling) their craft. I didn't make any purchases, but I felt myself look at a few things a few seconds longer every time I passed their booth. Linda Allard jewelry was a personal favorite of mine. What was really special is when the artists had some spare time to share their stories. I could have gone another three days just listening!The food is all guilty pleasures. They had everything from waffle sundaes, to pizza cones. Some of the popular new places in town like Nothing Bundt Cakes were scattered in-between the standard "fair food" booths - think fried EVERYTHING. Throughout the weekend they also have different concerts on the various stages up and down the boardwalk. On the south end, you can find the sand sculpture competition. I have never seen anything like it! You won't believe its sand! Don't be like me and let the parking and the crowds keep you from experiencing one of the great local festivals in VB. You won't regret it!

The sand castle competition is something that I look forward to every year, but this year it was way took pack in the tent. I think next year it needs to be spaced out more so that folks aren't bumping into each other.

The event planners rocked it out again this year. Three days of wonderful sun drenched weather, food, music sand castles and 200+ unique vendors. All on the beautiful Virginia Beach Boardwalk with King Neptune overseeing the whole thing.If you have never done the Neptune Festival before it has been going on for almost 40 years and is a VB tradition. It is also a tradition to show off your pooch which is allowed to walk right along with festival goers. I always think it's worth the $5 to check out the cool sand castles under the tent. This year did not disappoint. I liked the Queen the best.I checked out a few food vendors and snapped a pic of one where I had an Italian sausage and fries that were delish. The KONA ICE truck was mobbed not only with customers, but bee's around their window. My daughter wanted no part of the possibility of having a bee sting, so we left.I almost never buy anything from the art vendors, but enjoy looking at their unique works. Awesome job event planners.

We happened upon this festival on our way to the Acquarium, boy am I glad we did! This certainly ranks in the top 10 of street festivals I've ever attended and may very well be the best. Artist booths, food vendors, live music and other activities for people of all ages. What I enjoyed about the artist booths was that they covered many different styles from abstract to more traditional. Topping it all off was the sand sculptures on the beach. Some really incredible works from entries both local and globally.We arrived here before noon and didn't leave until nearly 5, enjoying every moment of the time we spent at this the 37th edition of the festival. I'm positive if we are still in the region next year, I'll try to plan a long weekend around this event.

This is without a doubt my favorite thing in Virginia Beach so far. My husband and I stumbled upon this our first year after moving here. We took our puppy (a 5 month old English bulldog) the first time - huge mistake. This event is VERY crowded between around 15th -30th street on the boardwalk at the beachfront. There are literally tens of THOUSANDS of people walking the boardwalk and the vendors have set up their tents on the boardwalk as well so it isn't as spacious for walking as usual and with our adorable puppy we were stopped every 5 minutes with people asking to pet him - I was also afraid people wouldn't see him and might step on/kick him. There are hundreds of vendors from all over the US and some from outside who come to show and sell their unique items. This event coincides with the yearly sandcastle competition every year so you can do both by easily starting lower on the boardwalk and walking past the sandcastles before you go shopping/browsing.I've been every year since we've moved and several of the artists come back every year though some items are new - this has allowed me to buy items I thought were too expensive one year but thought about all year after the festival and decided I wanted if I ever saw them again - so win win! Either way I love to go and look at the items and find unique treasures to display in my home that I couldn't find at Target or name brand stores. Plus I prefer to support artisans as opposed to big companies anyway in today's economy. There are food tents set up with Greek, Asian, American fare and they sell the usuals like funnel cake and those stainless steel rootbeer mugs you can fill up all day for around $10. I have several friends who come from out of town now to go to this event with me and I look forward to attending it every year. As with all art some of the items are VERY expensive but most are reasonably priced. You can find wood works, photographic framed art, wall art, home goods, clothing, jewelry, etc. You name it, they probably have it. My husband even found some stuff he bought - and that is saying something!My only issue is, once I've bought a bunch of stuff I have to carry it around all day so from now on I'm only going to browse first, then go back and buy it all up once I'm done looking!I can't WAIT for the next one!

This is my first ever arts and crafts festival since I have arrived in Virginia Beach. I honestly thought, its a very interesting celebration to showcase local talents and their craftsmanship. Apparently, some are promising and some are just totally rubbish.Food trucks and live music are probably the highlight of the event. Best of all, families can also enjoyed the festivities.My only critics, its quite a bit disorganized. Food and beverages should be in location and the same as the others.Would have been better if the organizer have highlighted a local artist and their artwort.Overall, kudos to all the people behind this successful event.

Today was the first time I've ever been to this fest!!! (And I have lived in Hampton Roads for a long time now!) Not disappointed.We came today, a Friday, to beat the crazy weekend crowd and traffic. That is good and bad I guess. Good because yes, waaaay less traffic, more space to walk (but actually, it was more crowded than I thought, so I can't even imagine how it will be over the weekend!) Easier to access the booths and look around, short lines for food and different vendors.The negative was that because it's still only Friday, we missed the sand sculptures, surf contest, and parade!!! We still had an awesome time! The highlights for me - a Kona Ice snowcone in Strawberry Shortcake flavor (wedding cake + strawberry + cream). It was delicious. I got a steak in a sack (steak gyro) from one of the food vendors, forgot the name, but I ended up letting my bf have it because it had too many onions and veggies for my liking. We also got our names done/intertwined in brush calligraphy by artist Daniel Nie. It was pretty cool.Good weather, good company, fun food and sights, always equals a good time. This is a great festival. :) Glad I finally went, and I will probably come again. If not tomorrow, maybe next year.

Great events, food & entertainment! Opportunity permitting, a must go and see. A fun experience, looking forward to going back to see more if the festival!